The Scottish Lowland Football League confirmed last night that B-teams will remain in the league for at least the next two seasons, if they want to…

The statement issued by Scottish Lowland Football League Board last night reads as follows:

The Scottish Lowland Football League can confirm that the majority of our members have voted in favour of continuing with B Teams for at least the next 2 seasons.

Following a process which began in October, a democratic vote was held in line with our rules at a General Meeting tonight.

The Board would like to thank all our members for their contributions to the discussions in recent weeks.

A majority of clubs in the league agreed that their inclusion should continue moving forward. This means that Celtic B will stay in the Lowland League, as well as Hearts B. Rangers B had a team last season but made the decision to take them out for the current season and beyond after controversial plans for a new fifth-tier Conference League, that would include B-team, Highland, and Lowland League clubs, fell through.

Celtic v Motherwell – cinch Premiership – Celtic Park Celtics Rocco Vata during the cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday April 22, 2023. Photo Steve Welsh

Fans are divided on the decision to allow B-teams in the league, with replies to the statement on Twitter saying things like “those who voted for this should be ashamed of themselves” and “clubs who voted for are just cowards”.

Clubs are also divided, with Albion Rovers slamming the decision in an official club statement.

It reads: “This was a chance for the Lowland League to regain its sporting integrity within the pyramid, ensuring the fifth-tier next year and beyond would be made up of clubs who have earned their places on merit and are all competing on a similar field and for the same purpose – to win promotion to the SPFL.

“Instead we and our fellow member clubs are now once again at odds with the majority of our supporters who have no or little interest in watching their club play competitive fixtures against B teams.”

A personal opinion from myself as a Celtic Star writer…

I don’t agree with this decision. I think that a rework of the B-team should come sooner rather than later, as it is clearly not providing a path to the first team like it pretends to do.

The development at this club is not great, but it’s not too late to fix the problem. We can start with the league itself. A lot of the clubs are made up of part-time footballers and players who have already played at a much higher level. Are our young players really being challenged enough to develop as quickly as we would like them to? On the surface, it may appear so, as we’re sitting 10th, but is it really as beneficial to the youngsters as it seems? I suppose an in-depth analysis by club officials is the only way to figure that out.

Mitchel Frame of Celtic vieds with Dávid Hancko of Feyenoord as he makes his first team debut during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Feyenoord at Celtic Park Stadium on December 13, 2023. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

This is the one time I’ll give something to the other side of the city, but they put it perfectly: “As matters now stand, there is no suitable, governing body-led development structure for players between 18-21 in Scotland.”

This is worryingly accurate, and discussions need to be had, as things clearly are not working for everyone.

Jessica Elliott

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